P.W. Botha

Pieter Willem Botha (12 January 1916-31 October 2006) was the head of state of South Africa from 9 October 1978 to 15 August 1989, succeeding B.J. Vorster and preceding F.W. de Klerk; he served as Prime Minister until 1984, when the post was replaced by the title of President. Botha was a member of the National Party of South Africa, and he was vehemently opposed to communism and majority rule.

Biography
Pieter Willem Botha was born in Paul Roux, Orange Free State Province, South Africa on 12 January 1916, and he abandoned his university studies and moved to Cape Province in 1936 to become a full-time officer of the National Party of South Africa. He entered Parliament in 1948 and became Minister of Defense in 1966. Following B.J. Vorster's resignation in 1978, he became Prime Minister, largely owing to the disunity among the Transvaal members of the National Party. He became President under a revised constitution which gave him extensive powers, and he appreciated the rowing economic, cultural, and military isolation of his country because of the apartheid system, while fearing that the potential erosion of the National Party's support would allow for the radical Conservative Party of South Africa to take power. His racial reforms were careful and partial, and he abolished the pass laws compelling blacks and coloreds to carry identity cards and conceded limited colored and Indian representation in the Parliament. He also conceded the idea of Namibian independence in 1988, which ultimately took place in 1990. His authoritarian style and his increasingly evident inability to find a solution to the country's racial policies, which led to the country becoming more and more isolated, led to him being removed from office while he was recuperating from a heart attack. He died in 2006 at the age of 90.